Blurred Lines
by Rixton
Summary: "Shut you out? The last week you have been distant, distracted and unwilling to tell me what was wrong ... and then I find out from Frankie that my wife is the subject of some mad man's fixation. You have the nerve to stand here and tell me not to shut you out?" Established Rizzles.
1. Chapter 1

Part 1

Maura's heels clicked against the hard wood flooring, as she walked past the kitchen island she placed her bag down and continued toward the fridge. She took the chilled bottle of wine and then headed towards the cabinet that held the wine glasses. She had never wanted a drink more so than this evening.

"can we please talk about this Maura" the request came from the woman behind that had followed Maura into the house from their car.

The tired doctor did not turn around to face the brunette instead she poured herself a much needed glass of white. She lifted the glass to her mouth and closed her eyes as she sipped on the alcohol – when the glass returned to counter top Maura reached for the bottle and topped up the glass before turning with it in hand. "I'm not sure that is a good idea"

"Well I disagree" Jane unclipped her gun and badge from her belt and placed then onto the kitchen counter. "come on Maur... don't shut me out."

"Shut you out? The last week you have been distant, distracted and unwilling to tell me what was wrong... and then I must find out from Frankie that my wife is the subject of some mad man's fixation. You have the nerve to stand here and tell me not to shut you out?" Maura shook her head in disbelief.

"Maura please...just let me explain. Firstly, it is not a fixation of a mad man, and it is not as bad as you are making out right now… the only reason I didn't say anything was because I didn't want you to worry unnecessarily is all… It's under control... honest"

"Jane...stop..." Maura was speaking too calmly for Jane's liking; the car ride home was too quiet. "your mother is in the guest room; our kids are upstairs and I'm so angry right now if I talk to you about this we will argue." Maura took her wine and headed out of the kitchen, "it has been a long day, I'm going to take a bath." She explained as she passed the detective.

"Brilliant! Just what I want to deal with after a forty-eight-hour shift!" Jane barked after her wife her voice raised – Maura did not retaliate, she wouldn't be pulled into this argument right now, she continued her way up the stairs. Jane was left standing in the kitchen frustrated and angry, "God damn" she growled. Slipping off her jacket she rested it over the back of the stool that stood between herself and the kitchen island. She took her phone from her back pocket and placed it onto the counter top before taking herself to the fridge.

She retrieved a beer. Then headed to the sofa to take a seat – she flicked on the television, turned on the highlights of the most recent baseball game that she had recorded and she settle herself. The clock on the wall showed it was just after one am. "happy fucking birthday" She muttered twisting the lid from her beer. She lifted her booted foot up onto the coffee table in front of herself and lifted the bottle to her mouth. The cold beer was a welcomed end to what shaped itself into a pretty terrible day.

Upstairs Maura stood in front of the mirror looking at her tired reflection. The anger and frustration was only mounting inside her and it had been since Frankie visited her in her office earlier that evening and let slip what had Jane so troubled for the past week or so. If she was honest with herself the anger was mixed with fear also and it was an emotional cocktail that she did not wish to deal with right now.

Deciding the only thing she could do right now was sink herself into the heat of the bath she'd ran and drink the wine she'd poured, she turned her back to the mirror and started to undress.

* * *

"Ma…"

Jane grumbled a response without opening her eyes, she could tell wherever she was it was bright, "urgh… go away" she moved her arm to cover her eyes.

"What are you doing down here…have you pissed mom off again?"

"Huh?" Finally giving in and opening her eyes Jane saw her son sat on the coffee table in front of her. Looking around she let reality sink in, "Oh god…" she moaned, it was morning, she had slept on the sofa and her back was making sure she knew it. "What time is it?"

"It's half seven…and you…watch your language" It was Maura who answered them both as she entered the room heading to the kitchen. She was dressed in a perfectly fitted summer dress, her heels clicking against the hard wood floor, looking as together as Maura Rizzoli-Isles always did.

Jane sighed once more as she turned to face the teenager at her side who had a 'we got caught' look upon his face. "Is that coffee?" she asked him. He nodded his head with a smirk – "you know you're my favourite child right?" she explained as she twisted herself into a sitting position, arms held out she welcomed the mug, "Don't tell them I said that tho Kid, our secret" the brunette winked.

"Happy Birthday Ma!" He passed her the mug of coffee that he had made for Jane before he had woken her, he then lent forward kissing her on the cheek before standing to his feet. Jane smiled a genuine smile as with her son hitting the age of fifteen it was not often he would willingly show any form of compassion towards his parents. Thank god for Birthdays.

"Thank you Kiddo" Jane took a mouthful of the coffee as she watched her son leave the living area and move toward the kitchen, she used her free hand to push her unruly hair back from her face. She had to admit she sure felt her age this morning, her back ached and there were dull stabbing pains which settled in her temples - the result of the empty beer bottles that littered the table in front of her. Welcome to your fifty-second-year Jane – she mused.

"Good morning"

For the umpteenth time that morning Jane groaned, her mother happy tones filled the house, "Morning Ma" Jane replied not looking up from the black liquid that she hoped would make everything better.

"Happy Birthday Sweetie" Angela's happy smile turned to confusion as she rounded the sofa to greet her daughter with a happy birthday hug, but instead Angela was stopped in her tracks by the condition her daughter was in. She looked from Jane who was clearly still dressed in last night's clothes boots included, nursing a coffee and a slight hang over to the direction of her daughter in law who was at the kitchen island preparing breakfast. "Did you sleep here?"

"Don't ask Ma" Jane stood to her feet, she needed to escape – she needed to shower.

Angela held up her hands in surrender and kissed her daughter as Jane attempted to pass her "you know if you're having to sleep on the sofa…it usually means you have done something wrong"

"Is this you not asking?" Jane shot a glare.

"There was no question there Janie…just a statement…" Angela pointed out.

"I'm Fifty-Two Years Old Today Ma…I've had to sleep on that Sofa enough times to know what it means"

"Uhhuh" Angela nodded as Jane walked in the direction of the stairs.

The older Rizzoli shook her head as she made her way toward Maura and her Grandson. "Morning you two"

"Good Morning Angela" Maura smiled softly, "Can I get you a coffee?"

"Thank you…that would be lovely dear."

"Morning Grams" Jamie offered from the seat next to that which Angela had taken, they were on the stools at the island "Are you here for Ma's party later Grams?"

"Sure am… like I'd miss an evening spent with you all" she placed an arm around her ever growing Grandson hugging him to her side.

"There you are Angela…" Maura returned placing the mug on the counter top. It was then Maura noticed the gun, badge and phone that was crowding them. It was unlike Jane to leave such items lay around another sign that the previous night did not play out as it normally would "Oh…I'm sorry… let me move these" she gathered Jane's things up and placed them on the work space behind them. "She's worse than the children sometimes"

Angela laughed and nodded her head in agreement, "Well, listen… don't you worry about this evening at all, it looks as though you could do with a day off. Me and my little helpers here will get everything ready – take the day?"

"Oh Angela… I couldn't let you have to sort it all"

"Yeah Grams…listen to Mom" Jamie offered in, wanting nothing more right now than to get out of helping in the kitchen and heading off to the shops with his Grandmother. It was Saturday, he had a full day of baseball and video games scheduled.

"Jamie…talk less…and chop more" Maura scolded softly with a smile as she watched him return to the slicing of fruits she has tasked him with when he had first joined her in the kitchen for punishment resulting from the earlier language she had walked in on him using, he was defiantly his Ma's son.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Was worth a try" he muttered.

"Don't listen to him dear… of cause its fine. You know I love to cook a family feast, and don't you worry these two will have a great day with me. You and Janie could do with a day off!"

Maura would not be arguing with that, the last case which they had successfully closed the previous day had taken up well over three weeks of their lives and had pushed the whole team. "Well, thank you…it is appreciated"

"It's settled…Jamie go wake your sister… I will finish the chopping…"

The youngest of the three placed the knife down and dropped to his feet, happy to be released from his punishment. "Thanks Grams"

"Breakfast in fifteen" Maura called out after him as he escaped the room, she then smiled at her mother in law "Thank you Angela, for all your help"

"Your welcome dear."

* * *

Exiting the en-suite Jane finally felt a little more human and a little less old. Still slightly hungover however.

"I should have woken you"

Jane was a little startled as she had thought she was in the room alone, looking up Maura was sat on the end of the bed, "Jesus Maur…you scared me!"

Maura let her eyes fall over her wife's athletic build – the brunette was stood in a pair of jeans and her black bra. Although they had been married for coming on ten years now seeing Jane stood before her in a state of undress caused Maura to react as if she was seeing her wife for the very first time. Attraction. Maura was drawn to the Detective, what they had – was real. "Last night, I should have listened to you, we should have talked. Or I should have at least woken you up when I found you on the sofa and we should have gone to bed together"

Jane did not blame her wife for the way she reacted, hell – if she could have escaped her own company last night she would have taken to chance. "So you're not angry with me"

"Oh no…I am" Maura corrected, she stood to her feet and walked over to stand in front of her wife – she placed her hands either side of Jane's hips, their bodies close "I'm not just the wife of a Detective Jane, you can't hide the horrors of our world from me. I'm put in the middle of it day in day out… its our job to keep it away from our kids, our family – not each other. I know after everything that has happened to us you want to protect me …but you can't."

Jane broke eye contact and looked to where Maura's left hand traced a still very visible scar across Jane's stomach – a raised white reminder or the reality of the world they lived. Jane closed her eyes, Maura's thumb ran softly over the area - Jane hated that scar. It acted as a reminder of the hell her family had been put through. "I know…" she placed her hand over the top of Maura's not able to let the blond touch her there so softly – she pressed the blonds hand against her side firmly, "I know"

Leaning forward Maura kissed Jane firmly, lovingly. She brought her hands up a little higher on the brunette's body away from the scar, they now rested just under the bra – thumbs resting across lower ribcage. She pushed Jane back slowly till Maura had her pinned up against the wall of their bedroom.

"Happy Birthday Jane" Maura smirked breathlessly as she pulled back from the kiss, her lips still pressed against those of her wife as she spoke. After one last kiss she attempted to stepped back out of the embrace, Jane however had other ideas, she stopped Maura from moving back any further by placing her arms around the Doctors waist and resting her hands on her lower back. "Sorry Hun, your Mothers finishing off breakfast down there and we need to go eat pancakes with our kids because it's your birthday and they deserve normal."

Swallowing hard Jane knew her wife was right. "Just a few more minutes before we play happy family?" she begged.

Maura shook her head, "You can have a few minutes to yourself to put on a top and pull yourself together. I however…need to leave now before I help you out of those jeans…"

Jane let out a low moan, "Not helping Maur" she whined lowly as she released her hold.

Turning away from the desire in the brunette's gaze Maura chuckled to herself softly, she knew exactly what she was doing. She headed in the direction of the bedroom door and pulled it open "Water and pain killers on your bedside table… should help the hangover."


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Having pulled on her old BPD t shirt and tied back her hair Jane was ready for the day off she deserved. Stepping into the hallway from her bedroom when was met with the fresh smell of pancakes and bacon.

She passed Jamie's room only glancing quickly inside knowing he was already up for the day, the room was a mess of clothes which littered the floor, along with sports equipment and towels - despite multiple requests he tidy this room it appeared to Jane that it was in worse condition than when she was last unfortunate enough to be in there. Teenagers!

The last room on the way down was that of her daughters, at sixteen the oldest Rizzoli-Isles sibling was growing way to quickly into a young lady for Jane's liking. The door to this room was closed. Jane tapped her knuckles against the wood twice in quick succession before pushing open the door. "Morning Sweetie"

"Hey Ma...you're up early...isn't it your day off?" the younger blond glanced to the door way from the mirror as she finished tying her hair back into a tight ponytail.

"I don't remember what a lie in is kid" Jane glanced around her daughter's room happy to see that she had taken after her other mother and everything was in its place. Rachel's room was immaculate, her bed already made and no dirty clothes or clutter.

"you sleep okay?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "could have been worse"

"but could been better?" Jane asked carefully "Do you need to chat?". She didn't want to pressure her daughter, although she had picked up Maura's qualities in some aspects she had the same strength and determination as Jane when it came to not showing any weakness.

The younger shook her head, "nah I will be fine Ma. The run will sort me out."

"breakfast first?" Jane asked noting her daughter was already kitted out in her running gear, trainers and all.

"birthday pancakes and coffee... hell yes! More than ready!" she rubbed her hands together in excitement, she defiantly was ready. She walked towards the door frame toward Jane, "Happy birthday Ma."

"Thanks kid" Jane hugged her daughter back and took the moment to appreciate her family. "come on...let's go down before your mom makes her way up here to find us..." Jane turned from her daughter and continued toward the stairs, Rachel followed her "or worse...your grams"

* * *

"I said a light lunch Jane…not your body weight in chilli fries" Maura scrunched her nose in disapproval as she sat opposite the empty plate that once held the fries that she had just watched her wife devour. After breakfast this morning Angela as offered went about readying the house for this evenings family meal and Maura decided it was the perfect chance for herself and Jane to spend some time together, God knows it's needed after yesterday.

"Well if your son didn't literally take the breakfast from my plate this morning maybe I wouldn't be so hungry"

Rolling her eyes Maura laughed off the response, before either could say anything further their waiter approached the table. "may I?" he asked indicating to their empty plates.

"Yes thank you" Jane responded, "could we have another round of drinks also"

"sure... will be right back with them"

Jane smiled her thanks then waited for his exit before returning her attention to Maura. "hey Ma has the kids, I'm old and we have the afternoon off... defiantly a reason for another drink"

Maura couldn't argue there. "don't go having a midlife crisis on me Jane...I can't deal with that and two teenagers in the house."

"I can't promise I won't Maura." Leaning back in the chair the brunette turned serious, "listen...although this is the last thing I want to do right now... I think we need to talk..."

"there you go ladies - dry white wine" Jane was interrupted by the waiter delivering the drinks which had been ordered, the glass placed in front of Maura, "and a beer for yourself" the bottle was placed in front of Jane. Both offered their thanks as he walked away.

"Yes you're right...we should" Maura agreed. "what's going on Jane?"

"I..." Jane faltered she didn't know how to start to explain the past two weeks to Maura. "firstly, I know your angry at me for keeping this from you but I really just didn't want to worry you unnecessarily…" Maura nodded once, indicating that she noted Jane's disclaimer however not that she agreed with the brunette, she stayed silent and waited for Jane to continue "well it started a couple of weeks back I got a couple of notes left on my car at the station...honestly I thought it was one of the guys winding me up" Jane lent forward resting her forearms on the table her tone was low, she didn't need the whole restaurant hearing this – "then… I got a note left on my car at crime scene ... nothing on the notes other than a simple sequence of numbers." Jane allowed Maura to digest the information before continuing, "That was all that had been happening until two days ago … I got a letter sent in to the office … no return address… we have no clue as to who sent it … same style of note, just another series of numbers. Right now, I'm not sure what it means or if it even means anything..." again Jane stopped, she watched as Maura worked through the information she was receiving.

"so this has been a little over two weeks?"

Jane nodded her head yes. "and I understand fully why your pissed at me. Look with the trial coming up, our case load lately, the stress of everything with your father I just... I didn't want one more thing to pile on top of us. I just didn't want to worry you"

Maura felt a sinking feeling in her chest she didn't need to ask which trial, it was the one both herself and Jane had been dreading. They had spent many months trying to deal with the mess that had been left behind after a case that had dragged the whole family through hell – it was a year on now and the trial date was set. On top of that Maura's father was in poor health and their case load was exhausting. Maura could not argue the fact that herself and Jane were under a lot of pressure. "You want to know what worries me Jane? that this can be going on and I don't even know about it. You said nothing…" she allowed this to sink in with the brunette before continuing, "You don't need to protect me… I'm not your helpless little wife…" The frustration was evident.

"do you really think that is how I look at you?" Jane asked, "I just wanted to get through this trial with as little upset to our family as possible… I'm already beyond fucked off that our kids are involved… it's one thing us getting up on the stand but they shouldn't be dragged into this."

"Jane…I know…I know" Mara reached over and took hold of Jane's hand, she tried to keep the situation under control as well as her own emotions. "I'm going to be honest I'm frustrated I'm in the dark. I tell you now I'm not going to make it through this trial if I'm worried about there been issues going on behind the scenes that I'm not aware of."

"I know…I handled this all wrong" Jane pulled her hands free from Maura's hold softly and held them up in surrender. Then she reached for her beer bottle, she lifted it from the table and held it out across the table – "How about this … lets enjoy the rest of today…you help me get through an evening with my whole family, and I promise…I won't keep you in the dark. Tomorrow, I will answer any questions you have, I'll dig out the copy of the notes and we can go into everything… I just… don't want to think about this today"

Maura complied, she lifted her wine glass and clink it against Janes beer bottle, "Let's get back to your birthday" the blond agreed. Jane smiled, she used her hand not holding her beer to take hold of Maura's free hand. "You deserve a good one Hun"

"I love you Maur"

* * *

"Grams…tables all set now. Can I go to the park for a while?" Jamie asked walking back into the kitchen, they had been to the grocery stores for all that would be needed for this evenings gathering, they had been to the Mall and gifts had been purchased – next stop had been the dirty robber where Angela had collected the assortment of drinks supplied by Vince. They upon returning to the house Angela and her grandchildren had cooked. They had been her assistance for most of the day.

"Your Mas will both be home shortly…" Angela looked at her watch, it had just passed half four, looking over the large pot she was stirring she asked "Have you wrapped you Ma's gifts?"

"Yes Ma'am, wrapped and card written" He nodded. "anyway…it's in your best interest to let me go"

"Is this right?" Angela smirked as she turned her back to the Grandson entertained by his attempt to convince her, it was a mixture of both Janes and Frankie's approach when they had been younger, he was now sat on the stool at the island. "And whys that?" she asked turning to make eye contact.

"TJ is down there with Danny…. I can make sure I get them both here on time"

Angela thought about this, her youngest grandson was confirmed - he knew she couldn't say no to this – if it was left to her other two grandsons to get here on time there was no way that would happen. "Fine…you can go. Let your sister know your heading out…see if she wants to go with you"

He jumped from the stall and went to take off out the room, "Thanks Grams"

"Wow…hold up child…" Angela walked around in his direction, pulling him into a hug and kissing her lips to his hear.

"Grams" He whined.

"Hey…If your Ma and Uncles don't get out of a hug on request you don't have a chance" Angela shot back, "Get them here for six at the latest you hear me?"

He nodded, "Sure, will do."

"thanks for your help today!" With that she released Jamie and allowed him to leave, she returned to finishing the food and hoping that her children would arrive with their significant others without issue – it was unlikely however as a drama free evening with the Rizzoli's was uncommon.

Jamie had gone in search of his older sister, he found her sat on the porch steps her attention on her cell phone – the basketball she'd been playing with before taking the seat for a breather was sat between her feet. "Hey Rach" he sat himself down next to her, "I've escaped the kitchen…I'm heading to the park to meet up with TJ and Danny, you want to come with?"

"Err… yeah sure." Rachel looked to her brother, "Grams okay with us abandoning here?"

"You've been out here for the last hour sinking hoops, now you're worried about the party prep?" He laughed digging his elbow into her side, "she gave us her permission to go…we have to make sure we get Dan and TJ back here on time"

"Well then…" Standing to her feet she slipped her phone into her back pocket of her jeans "let's get going." Lifting the basketball from between her feet both Rizzoli-Isles children took off towards the park.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

"Hey Janie… Happy Birthday"

Frankie and Nina walked in to the bustle of the Rizzoli-Isles home, "Hey Guys" Jane stood up from where she had been sat on the sofa speaking with Tommy to greet them, she hugged her younger brother and then moved to envelope Nina. "Thank you so much for coming…"

"Like we'd miss it. Happy birthday Jane" Nina offered, she handed over a card and gift, then moved to Hug Tommy, "Hey Tommy…long time no see"

"Hi Nina…tell me about it…working long hours" Tommy's then turned to his brother, "Little brother" he greeted.

Jane returned to her seat, "thank you both for these" she indicated to the gifts they had just given her, then she looked up to Frankie "This a birthday gift or an apology" she shot his way with a smirk.

"Oh god… was it that bad?"

Jane nodded her head yes, "I had to sleep on that sofa last night…so yes it was … I'm feeling my age today!"

Frankie held up his hands, "Well on that note…I'm going to get us a drink. Nina?"

"A wine please" Nina replied, slipping off her jacket and allowing Frankie to take it to hang up she took a seat next to Jane on the opposite sofa to the one which tommy wss on that hadn't been Jane's bed the previous evening. As he exited the room and left his sister, brother and wife to catch up he made his way to the kitchen area – hanging up their coats on his way.

"Hey all" Frankie called out to the kitchen. His mother and Maura were busying themselves with final touches. "Ma this all looks amazing" he complemented as he moved around offer a hug.

"I hope you're hungry" she responded.

"Always" Frankie offered, he then moved toward his sister in law and hugged her also on his way to the fridge. "Hey Maura"

"Hi, thank you for coming Frankie…"

"Your welcome… I wasn't too sure I'd be welcome by a certain sister after yesterday! Sorry about that…" Before Maura could offer a response they were interrupted.

"What happened yesterday?" Angela cut in, the conversation between her son and daughter in law proving more interesting that the sauce she was currently stirring.

"Your Son has a big mouth…that's what happened!" It was Jane's voice that answered their Mother, "Jesus Frankie what's wrong with you? Get your wife a glass of wine and leave my wife alone!"

"Jane" Angela scolded, "Whatever is going on between the three of you, the lord doesn't need to be brought into it…"

Jane smirked in Maura's direction, "Ma, I'm married to a woman, I'm sure the big guy is more concerned about that than my use of his name when addressing my idiot of a brother"

Angela rolled her eyes, "God help me…how did I end up with Children like you all?" She held the stirring spoon in Jane's direction, "you… leave Jesus out of your cursing"

"Yes Ma" Jane conceded, "Why do you get to call up on the lord and not me?"

"I need all the help I can get with you three…" Angela looked to her left to a visibly entertained Frankie and Maura, "…and your other half's for the matter"

Jane lent forward on the counter, "Anyway…. speaking of Children, why are none of ours here, I can't even get a text back off either of mine?"

"I just spoke with Danny in the car" Frankie explained as he retrieved the bottle of wine and began pouring, "They are all on their way back from the park now so… they should be here any minuet." Frankie and Nina's son Danny was a year younger than Jamie. The four Rizzoli grandchildren being close in age –TJ and Rachel were both in the same year at school – spent a lot of their time together.

"Well I'm glad your kid manages to keep in touch... get them a phone you said, for safety you said… I can't even get a god damned text of them" It was Maura the last part of the conversation was aimed at yet it was Angela who responded first.

"JANE! Again, none of Gods concern"

All in the kitchen laughed in response as Maura made her way, salad bowl in hand to her wife "Listen, the kids will be back, the food is nearly done…leave the kitchen and stay out the way." She kissed her softly on the lips, placing the serving bowl in the brunette's hands – "Take this to the table"

"Do as your wife says Janie" Frankie interjected.

"well Your wife says where's her drink?" Jane retaliated as she did as her wife instructed and left the kitchen with the salad.

* * *

A further fifteen minutes passed and all but Maura and the youngest Rizzoli's were now seated at the table. Thankfully the back door from the rear year into the kitchen opened. "Hey Kids…thanks for joining us...your only half hour late" Maura called out as she stopped what she had been doing and welcomed them, her eldest Nephew approaching her first "Hey TJ…how are you"

"Hi Aunty M… I'm good thanks. Sorry we lost…track of time"

"Don't worry, I'm not the one losing my mind waiting to eat… you grow taller every time I see you" He was slightly taller than Maura and she had her heels on, offering him a quick hug she then stepped back, "get on in there and see everyone… could you take these please?" She gave him two bottles of table wine to take with him.

As he took the bottles, she noticed cuts on the knuckles of his right hand, "Wow hold up" She called him back, she looked from TJ to the three other Children "Okay…what happened?" She took in their appearances, her sons shirt grass stained and she could see a darkening against the side of his face – it was apparent the four of them had been in some kind of a scuffle.

"Mom, listen, before you flip…"

Moving to Jamie she took hold of his face and turned his head to the side to get a closer look at his left eye, then she brought his head forward to check his pupils "Not a great way to start explaining yourself to me son…" although she wanted to deal with this now she knew she had to try and take control of how this may escalate, the last thing she wanted was to ruin the meal that Angela had spent the best part of the day creating.

"This wasn't our fault…we can explain" It was Rachel who now cut in.

Maura held up her hand to stop her from continuing, she was angry "Oh you will all explain, but right now I have a house full of people ready to eat and if your Ma walks in here and sees you all looking like this…well…" Maura shook her head, it's not even worth thinking about how that would go down.

Maura let go of Jamie's face, "Other than the black eye this one will have, and your hand" she was referring to Jamie and TJ, " anyone else have any injuries they would like to admit to. Her eyes checked over her daughter's appearance and then her younger Nephew "Danny…are you okay?" he nodded his head yes, "Great. You will all be explaining this to me later …. for now" Maura took the bottles of wine from TJ and passed them to Danny – "as you two appear least dishevelled - Danny would you mind taking these to the table please – Rachel… grab the bread off the counter – and both grab a seat at the table."

They both did as instructed and headed towards the dining room, once they left Maura turned to the two remaining children – "Jamie… get yourself upstairs, tidy yourself up and get back down here… sit as far away from your Ma as you can…"

Mumbling as he left Maura scolded in a low growl, "You don't want to test me right now Jamie"

One he'd left the room she turned to TJ, "Lets clean that up…" She brought him over to the sink where she allowed the warm water to run, "what happened?"

"Honestly, just a bit of trouble with some other kids at the park when we were playing basketball" That was the truth and TJ didn't feel it his place to expand and explain what has started the trouble.

"TJ… I have three police officers sat around that table… did you think the four of you will get away showing up here like this?"

He shrugged his shoulders. He knew it wouldn't end well for any of them.

* * *

"Brilliant…we're all now here" Jane exclaimed, "Let's eat" she was pleased to finally see her wife walk into the room with the last dish from the kitchen and the two remaining children following.

"sorry were late aunt J. Happy birthday"

Tj took his seat to the side of Maura and next to his Pop Tommy. "No worries Kiddo, Danny here was telling us you couldn't leave the court… so you guys won, right?"

Danny may have failed to explain the reason they couldn't leave the court was not due to a game, the four youngest at the table shifted uncomfortably, "Yeah…something like that"

All Maura could do was lift her glass of wine and take a sip, she elbowed TJ and indicated to his hand he had placed on the table. He moved it from view to his lap.

"What happened to six o'clock Jamie?" Angela thankfully interrupted the discussion between TJ and Jane, "Last time I chanced six was not six forty-five."

"In all fairness Grams… Mom kept us in the kitchen for fifteen minutes so it was really more half six."

"Really?" Just as Maura was about to involve herself Jane halted them.

"Okay… can we lecture later please. I really need to eat" no one would argue against that. "Everyone dig in. Ma, Maura… thanks so much for tonight" Jane offered, "And thanks for coming everyone"

"Like we'd miss seeing you coping with being a year older" Tommy laughed, leaning over and taking the serving spoon for the lasagne, and began to dish it out – starting with his son. "there you go kid… eat up" Everyone else followed suit – multiple conversations struck up between the family and a cacophony of sound filled the home that created the usually family dinner atmosphere.

The Rizzoli clan spent the next hour eating, laughing and enjoying each others company when the conversations around the whole table were stopped by a concerned Angela. "TJ…what on earth happened to your hand?"

"My…My hand?" He pulled it back from where it hand been retrieving a bread roll.

"Yeah your hand Kid?" Tommy spoke up now, reaching over he took hold of his sons wrist bringing his hand to rest on the table. "You been fighting?"

"It wasn't like that" TJ tried to explain.

"Tommy… the kids, they got in an altercation at the park before getting back here."

"Kids? What as in …all of you?" Jane stepped in now, looking around the table at unusually quite children. "Any you knew about this?" Jane asked Maura.

"Well they walked into the kitchen looking like they'd been dragged through a hedge... I've checked them over, only injuries are TJ's hand and that one bruised eye" she explained looking toward their son.

Jane felt a rage run through her, she placed her folk on her plate. She looked from Jamie who had the decency to lower his gaze to her daughter, she shook her head. "Okay… brilliant… absolutely brilliant"

"Danny? You care to explain?" It was Frankie now demanding answers from his son.

"Wait…" Rachel drew the attention from all at the table, "It wasn't their fault. It's mine"

Jane sat back in her chair, "continue?" she demanded her daughter now having her full attention.

"Look, we were at the Park, finishing up a game and some guys from our year" She indicated to TJ, "They just…wouldn't back off…so…"

"So what…you all decided to brawl it out?" Jane demanded.

"Jane …" Maura warned, wanting her wife to keep her temper in check.

"They were sticking up for me OK… I was getting hassled so… TJ stepped in, then, it escalated…and they stuck up for me" Rachel shot back. She stood up from the table and walked away.

"Rachel, come back here" Jane requested as she stood to her feet, but she was met by her daughter continuing out the room and finally the slamming of the front door shut. Jane turned to the table, "So Rambo… anything to add?" she asked her son.

Jamie shook his head no, "I think she pretty much covered it!" He explained.

"Okay" Angela spoke up deciding to take control of this situation, "Listen up… anyone who has been in a brawl today start clearing this table, you're on washing up duty. Anyone I gave birth to or anyone married to someone I have given birth to – grab your drinks and make your way to the living room."

Jane did as her mother said as far as retrieving her drink, she stood up from the table taking her glass of wine and then she began to walk from the room. On her way past Jamie she took hold of the top of his head and tilted it to look at the bruise under his eye. "Get some Ice on that kid… between loading the dishwasher and wiping down this table." Then she looked to her older nephew, "Same for you and that hand." With that she turned and headed out of the dining room in search of her daughter.


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

The back board vibrated as the basketball collided inside the square marker before sinking through the net. The ball was being thrown with a force caused by anger and frustration. Jane stayed back and watched for a few moments observing Rachel, then when the third attempt shot in a row failed to make a basket she stepped forward "kiddo come take a seat?"

Sitting herself on the porch step she waited for Rachel to make her way over. "do we have to do this Ma?"

"yeah...I'm afraid so." Jane placed her wine on the step next to her, her daughter took a seat on her other side. "so you want to tell me what happened?"

"not really"

"Okay, let me rephrase... I need you to tell me what happened? Why are you getting hassled by a group of kids from your year?"

"it was nothing Ma, honest"

"nothing doesn't lead to a brawl Rachel. I got a black eye and a busted-up hand sitting at my dinner table and from them attempts at making a basket I just saw you take I'm thinking that your trying to cover a wrist injury from a poorly thrown punch." Jane watched as Rachel held the ball between her knees and placed her left hand placing it over her wrist.

"my wrist's..."

"don't say fine. It's not fine...I'm a damn good detective Rachel" Jane warned. Her tone turned to concern "Please talk to me" she knew her kids weren't angels and neither were her nephews but they were not the type to get themselves into an altercation for fun either.

Picking the basketball back up she passed it from one hand to the other ignoring the throbbing pain in her right hand. She thought about her options. There was no way her Mother would be letting her walk back in the house without them talking this through so she caved and told the truth "did you know there was a piece in the paper about us?"

Jane was confused "sorry...a what?" she knew nothing about this.

Pulling her phone from her pocket Rachel unlocked the screen and pulled up the web page, one of the local papers had run a story, and just as Rachel had said it was all about them. Jane took the phone in her hand and focused on the text, thumbing down the screen she was faced with a series of photos. An image of herself, then Maura followed by the face that still haunted her sleeping hours. "the guys from my year, they were giving me a hard time at the park about it."

Jane raged internally with anger, she knew she had to control her emotions the last thing this situation needed was Jane's outburst. This had not been the first time her face and name had been in print but it was the first time her family had been pulled into the mess and now her daughter was suffering as a result. She scanned over the article giving herself the needed moments to regain composure and she then looked back to her Daughter "I'm sorry kid. This isn't fair on you"

Rachel shrugged "it's not your fault Ma."

Jane disagreed, she felt that this was her fault. "do you want me to come down the school? Have a word?"

"God defiantly not." Rachel was horrified at the thought. She turned to Jane, "TJ has my back at school Ma, they all did earlier. I'm fine. It's just a bunch of idiots who find this funny." This angered Jane further, nothing about this was funny. Rachel continued speaking seemingly oblivious to the fact Jane jaw tensed and her fists balled. "I just...Can't wait to get this damned trial over so we can go back to normal"

It broke Jane's heart that she could not protect Rachel from this, "I couldn't agree more sweetie" Taking a deep breath Jane decided for now they were done here. "Okay what do you say we go back in there, you help the others clear up and then we can stuff our faces with cake and enjoy the rest of tonight. We can deal with this tomorrow"

"what? I still have to clear up? Even after I told you all that?"

Jane nodded "err yeah kid you do. It doesn't matter why you ended up fighting, you were still fighting. I'm letting you of easy here" Rachel agreed knowing that things could have played out a lot worse for them. "how you doing really kid?"

"I'm ok Ma. Honest"

Jane just nodded at first, "Well you know you can always come to your mom and me"

"yeah I know." she turned and walked up the stairs and towards the front door to join the younger Rizzoli generation in their cleaning. She hoped that her Ma would forget by tomorrow and they wouldn't need to discuss this any further – she doubted this however.

Jane remained seated, he back to the door, "I'm going to keep hold of this..." she asked holding the youngsters phone.

After a quick glance back Rachel shrugged, she knew she didn't have an option anyway, she then continued on her way leaving Jane outside alone.

"God damn" Jane's earlier frustration was now bubbling over. She drank the remainder of the wine that was in her glass, the stood to her feet. Bending down she scooped the basketball up with her right hand and with one swift movement, with all her power she allowed the ball to launch across the yard. It collided with the garage door and created a satisfying clatter that echoed across the Boston evening. What was not so satisfying was the dent that had been left, "shit" Jane cursed knowing she would need to repair that.

While not all her anger had dissipated at least she could return inside and attempt to hide it.

* * *

"what the hell is wrong with these people...it's disgusting" Angela commented, drawing the conversation back to the earlier topic. She was referring to the reporters who had published the story. She was in the living room with Jane, Maura and Nina while Tommy and Frankie had ushered the kids into the garden to play a friendly game of soccer.

Earlier while the kids had been in the kitchen clearing down as instructed Jane had explained what Rachel had revealed as the cause of the confrontation. Although none of then we're thrilled that the youngest family members had been fighting they were happy to find that when it came down to it they had protected each other. "Well at least we got to get out of washing up because of it." Jane tried to joke, she was trying to not show how angry and frustrated she was, it was her role to stay strong for her kids, to keep in control.

Maura could read Jane; she knew behind the attempts to joke and play this down there was concern and heartbreak. Reaching her hand across the blond placed a grip on Jane's thigh – a comforting gesture.

"Well there will be a lot more in the press in the coming weeks. We will just need to keep an eye on the kids." Maura commented, Jane agreed with a nod of her head.

"ok... well as much fun as I'm having discussing this ... I say no more talk of the trial. Just for tonight" in all honesty the more they discussed it the harder Jane found it to not lose her temper.

"I agree..." it was Nina who now spoke up, "and I think now is a good a time as any..." With a smile on Jane's direction she waited for the brunette to clock on. "do you really think you are getting away with it this year Jane?"

"oh god no" Jane shook her head. "please no. I'm way too old for this"

"but Jane its tradition" Reaching over to her handbag that had been on the floor beside her Nina lifted a bottle from it. She held it up for all in the living room to see. "tequila?"

Maura rolled her eyes and smiled, here we go, she thought. This tradition that Nina referred to had started about six years prior on Jane's birthday. The particular year when this all began Jane was struggling to cope with her getting older and it lead to Nina, Maura, herself and Frankie taking over the end of the bar at the dirty robber and drinking like students – a bottle of tequila finding it's self empty before the night finished and a hangover following the next morning. "I will get the glasses"

* * *

"Oh god Maur…why would you let me do that" Jane asked, she'd made it to the bed room – managed to shower and was now lay on her back on the centre of the bed looking up at the ceiling.

"You will need to clarify what aspect of this evening you are referring to hun" Maura explained from where she was slipping out of her dress. Jane tilted her head and watched her wife change – "The tequila? The third slice of cake? or the losing $100 to Tommy at Poker?"

"It was $150." Jane clarified.

Maura shook her head, "I'm glad you managed to enjoy yourself despite the events of the day."

"The tequila helped" jane admitted with a smirk.

"It always does" Maura had slipped into her nightwear, and moved to the dresser – retrieving the brush she ran it through her hair. She took the time to observe Jane, the brunette was again looking up at the light fitting above their bed "How are you holding up…"

"I don't know" She admitted, "There is just…so much going on. Work, the kids, the god damn papers now. Is it not enough that bastard nearly killed our Daughter without her having to read about it!"

The bluntness of Janes statement took Maura by surprise, she knew it was the alcohol that was causing her to speak in the manor she was. Walking towards the bed Maura knew that right now Jane needed her to be the strong one – it didn't happen often but when I did Maura was more than happy to oblige. She lay herself on the right-hand side of her wife, propping her head on her hand she pressed her body close against Jane's side. Her free hand draped over Jane's waist.

"I need you to listen to me Hun" Maura spoke softly but firmly, she lowered her head, pressing her lips to Jane's neck – Jane moved her head to the left so she was looking away from Maura in order to expose more of her neck for the blond. "… this is not your fault." Jane closed her eyes, Maura was the second person to say that to her this evening and Jane believed it even less now than she did earlier when her daughter spoke the very same words. Maura's hand had found its self under Jane's tank top and wrested against her toned stomach, she ran her thumb in small circles. "You saved our daughter that night Jane – and I won't let you say different"

"If it wasn't for me she wouldn't have needed saving. She wouldn't be dealing with all of this. She is sixteen god damn years old… she should be worried about school, homework, boys...our daughter should not have to be saved from a crazed lunatic…" Jane opened her eyes again, she felt tears filling them "I still have nightmares Maur… real bad nightmares."

Maura did not need Jane to tell her she was still suffering nightmares. She may have lied to the shrink work had ordered her to go and see to get signed off and out back on duty but she couldn't lie to the woman she shared a bed with. "I know you do sweetie"

Swallowing her emotion Jane turned to face her wife. "I can't keep breaking down like this"

"Hey" Maura's tone turned firm again "in this room, once we shut that door it's just you and me Hun. You don't have to hold it together; you can break down – I've got you"

Jane took a deep breath, regained composure - she lifted her head from the bed to press her lips against Maura's. She didn't need to say anything more.

* * *

The sound of the phone woke her from the much-needed sleep. "No…god no" She mumbled. Reaching over to the bedside table she lifted the handset up – squinting at the flashing number – answering the call with a gruff bark – "Rizzoli"

"Rizzoli… you need to get yourself down the Docs. There is something you're going to want to see"

"Its my day off….and its" Jane turned her head to check the clock at her side, "5:30… in the god damn morning… I am sure there is nothing I want to see other than my bed right now!"

"Trust me… you need to get down here. I've just put a call in to Frankie… You might want to wake Maura to… we could use her on this one."

"Brilliant!" Jane tried to keep the frustration from her tone, "We are on our way"

Forty minutes later Jane and Maura were pulling into the Docs, day was breaking – it was way too early. Jane had her sunglasses covering her tired eyes – the morning sun not a welcome guest right now - she was sat in the passenger seat as Maura was in a much better condition to drive – Jane blamed the tequila. Jane blamed Nina.

"Am I old enough to retire yet?" she asked between mouthfuls of the coffee. The flashing blue lights of the BPD cruisers indicated they were not far from the crime scene.

"You'd be bored" Maura responded as she headed in the direction of the crowd that had gathered. She pulled the car to the side behind what appeared to be Frankie's car – looking over beyond the tape Jane saw her younger brother.

Stepping from their car Maura moved to the back seat to retrieve her kit. It always amazed Jane how together her wife looked – it didn't matter the time of day, or the events that lead to her showing up on a scene – Maura Isles was always well turned out and ready to go. Jane on the other hand felt as though she'd been hit by a truck. They both made their way into the crowd of crime scene techs and officers. Jane handed her coffee to a uniformed officer asking him to get rid of it for her just before she ducked under the crime scene tape. Holding it up to allow Maura to step under.

"What have we got?" Jane called out. She didn't have the energy to exchange pleasantries.

"We got a problem…" Frost clarified, stepping to the side he allowed space for the two women approaching to view the body. He looked to Jane, "Look familiar?"

The body of a young man lay before them, but it wasn't the body itself Frost was asking about – it was what was marked upon the body. "You have got to be kidding me?" Jane asked, she stepped closer, reading the markings. A sick feeling began to rise into her mouth, a fear as she took in all that she was seeing.

Across the chest of the topless body, in thick black lettering, the tattoo read – "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" followed by a familiar sequence of numbers. A sequence that was similar to those which had already been left for Jane.


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

"Uncle T…Why are you here?"

"Morning back at you Kid" Tommy was sat on the sofa flicking through one of Maura's medical journals. At the sight of a part of the human body he'd never expected two lay eyes on he decided that was enough – closing it he through it over onto the coffee table and turned to see Rachel stood in front of him. she was tying her hear back – still waiting for an answer. "Your Ma's had to head out to a crime scene… apparently, it's going to be a long one so… I'm here to take you both with us for the day?"

"I think we are old enough to keep ourselves entertained for a day Uncle Tommy" Rachel explained as she tied back her hair "I mean…not the first time they have skipped out to a crime scene in the middle of the night. I bet you ten dollars that there is a note stuck to the coffee pot from them"

Tommy smiled at his niece, "Your Ma turn you into a gambler I see? Hopefully you're better at it than she is. Listen its Sunday… you don't get to spend it on your own..."

Rachel shrugged, "Fine by me. How about we head out for Pancakes then?"

"Brilliant… TJ and Jamie are in the drive way playing ball…go let them know the plan and I'll lock up this place." Rachel turned to leave the room but stopped for a moment and looked back to the sofa, "Uncle T… I… yesterday TJ was only looking out for me. Honest"

Tommy nodded his head, "Come take a seat a second Kid" Rachel did as she was asked. She found a space on the opposite end of the sofa, "your Ma gave me a heads-up about the papers and all that crap. How you holding up?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders, "Alright I suppose. I just… I don't want it all being dragged up again."

He understood that "Well unfortunately there is not a lot we can do about that, outside of the family you may get hassle - people talk and they talk a lot." Tommy wasn't usually the go to uncle for advice, or a heart to heart, but for some reason Rachel was feeling reassured by his manor and approach, "Now I'm not saying don't stick up for yourself… but what I am saying is don't let anyone pull you into a situation – walking away isn't weak."

With a nod of her head he saw his niece was listening to him, "Yeah… you're right"

"However I'm glad you all had each others back yesterday. It's important… family looks after family. I mean I am not giving the green light on you all brawling as a sport though…fighting is the very last resort… you're a smart kid. You got me?"

"I got you."

"Brilliant…well that's enough of me acting like your Ma." He joked, "today Rachel you get your wish… no more talk about the trial, about the brawl or about the huge dent in the garage door that I assume your Ma will want me to fix. We are going to go grab pancakes"

She stood to her feet, feeling a little happier that she had done, she moved forward and hugged Tommy. "Thanks Uncle T."

"Your welcome Kid…you know where I am…any time"

* * *

Her palms were clammy, she sat on the corner of her desk looking ahead at the digital screen that took up the whole back wall in the control room. The screen was displaying various photos – images of the two notes left on the car at the station which read **1996B554** and **1993V233** the third note was that left on her car at the crime scene **1986V309** and the forth was the one sent to Jane directly at BPD **1990F788** then the last image on the screen was a photograph of the tattoo taken from the chest of this morning's John Doe **HAPPY BIRTHDAY** **2002F443.**

The doors behind Jane opened and her thoughts and the tense silence she was sat in were broken "Here" Frost approached her and held out a coffee, "there's three shots in there… you sure as hell need it!"

"Thanks" Jane took the paper cup and held the coffee but made no movement to drink, instead she looked back up at the screen – Frost followed suit surveying the notes in front of them. "What the hell is going on Frost?" Jane asked.

"We will figure this out!" He reassured her. "We have to…because I have one pissed off wife that I need to get back home to. We landed from the airport and I got the call to head out to the crime scene… I dropped her back off at the house with once very tired child and all the luggage. I'm not in the good books"

Jane smiled slightly she could imagine the look on Tracy's face when her Husband broke the news of yet another crime scene cutting into his time off. Frost has been married to Tracy for around six years now and they were the proud parents of a five-year-old Mini-Frost called Daniel. "Well you're not the only one with a pissed off other half… we need to figure this out and make sure we put an end to this game before this gets any worse. There's some sick bastard out there playing with me and I can't take another night on that sofa"

"Maura pissed I take it?"

"Understatement…apparently when you get married you agree to let your wife know every time a lunatic takes a liking to fucking with you. This morning's crime scene won't have helped"

Before Frost could respond to Jane the doors behind them opened.

"Hey, we have something"

Jane stood to her feet to find her younger brother Frankie and Nina had entered the room, "What you got?" she asked and Frankie responded by handing her the file he had in hand while Nina moved towards the laptop set up on the desk to the left of the room to bring up on the screen the information they had found.

"The lab ran the prints and we have an for the John Doe from earlier" Nina explained as she split the screen in front of them so the images of the notes were still visible. While Jane was reading from the paper file that held the information the others looked up to the screen.

"He's one of us" Jane spoke the words with a shocked anger that they were all now feeling.

"Officer Dwight…BPD… he was off shift the last three days; he wasn't due back on shift until Tuesday."

Running her hand through her hair Jane stood to her feet, she placed the file down on the desk and stepped forward looking up at the screen. The doors opened again, this time the woman entering was Maura Isles. "My Lab told me they sent the results up…" she indicated to the screen, "I see you're aware of the ID"

"What are we dealing with here?" Jane asked. Maura walked toward Jane and handed her the file she held in hand – the findings from her autopsy. The only made brief eye contact before Jane opened the file and reviewed its contents.

Maura stepped back so that she could address the room – "Autopsy results show that Officer Dwight was killed over 24 hours before the body was found. Cause of death was from asphyxiation. The tattoo to his chest was carried out before time of death. Findings indicate that there are markings to victims wrists and ankles showing that he had been bound, and bruises and lacerations to the body show blows had been sustained - from the evidence I believe he had been held for a period of time prior to his death and his body was moved to the docks post-mortem. I am just awaiting the toxicology results to come back to me and as soon as I have them I will send them up"

Jane closed the file and looked up to lock eyes with Maura once more. A sick bitter taste rose into the brunette's mouth. She couldn't form words – placing the file on the desk to her side she turned herself away from them all and looked up at the screen ahead of them. The image of the young officer holding her attention as she processed this information.

"So let me get this straight - your saying Officer Dwight had been kidnapped, beaten, tattooed, suffocated and then his body dumped down by the docks…for us to find?" Frost broke it down.

Maura nodded her head, before any more could be said – something clicked "Wait… wait...Nina – pull up Dwight's file and list the text from the notes alongside it." Jane demanded.

Nina did as requested and everyone's attention was drawn to the board ahead of them. It only took a moment for the link on the sequence of numbers and the information on Dwight to make sense. The Tattoo across his chest had read 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY 2002F443' "Jesus fucking Christ" Jane couldn't believe what she was seeing – she looked from the screen to the rest of the team – "It's his damn Birth year and Badge Number"

Jane was right. Frankie was next to speak "Run the last four off each of the notes though BPD database Nina"

Within seconds the search had four successful hits, the screen had split into four and each corner held the photo and information of a serving BPD officer – "It's a god damn hit list!" Jane barked out, she took control of the room, "Get that over to control now, get me a uniform on every single one of those officers and get them to the station..."


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

Walking into the briefing room Jane allowed the door to slam shut behind her brining order to those who filled the room. Those on their feet had found a seat, voices silenced and they all looked to her – Jane made her way to the head of a large table and placed the files down, she took a breath.

Looking up she surveyed the faces that were around the table, starting from her left and working her way around sat Frost, Frankie and Nina and each were showing the strain this case had already brought with it. Next to Nina there were two further detectives that Jane had earlier called in to assist - Detective Andrews and Detective Graham.

"Tell me what you need from us to find this bastard Rozzoli" Detective Andrews barked across the table, he stood back to his feet, his fists balled and placed on the surface in front of him. It was now nearing nine thirty in the evening and the day had spiralled from bad to worse.

Jane attempted to respond but she faulted, she met the dark rage that had filled Andrews glare and felt her own reflected back – she knew she needed to be in control of the room right now but she was struggling to be in control of herself. "Take a seat Andrews…"

"I don't want a seat Rizzoli… I want a suspect"

"Look around this damn table Andrews, we all want the same thing. Now take a seat…. that's an order" Jane demanded, her tone not faltering - she regained the control - since Korsak had retired Jane had been promoted to Sargent, she was now in charge of this department and today she was feeling the pressure of the role. Andrews did as she asked and lowered himself back to the chair. "Now listen, I know what you're all feeling right now, trust me… but I need you all to stay focused. We need to find the bastard that has put five of our own in the damn morgue and we can only do that by staying in control." The day started with an unidentified body down by the docks and twelve hours later here the were – investigating the murders of five of their own. There were people above Jane that needed answers, and right now Jane had none to give them.

"Boss" Andrews offered as an apology for his outburst, "What do you need?"

Opening the file Jane began, she took the first photo – placing it down on the table – the first note that she had received on her car '1996B554', Jane followed this with a photo and then spoke "First we recap - Officer Sarah Richards, born 1996 Age 32 Badge Number Bravo-five-five-four." Jane spoke slowly, she wanted the names and details to stick with each of them, she continued in the same manor, notice followed by photos of each officer, "Office David O'Connor, born 1993 Age 35 Badge Number Victor-Two-Three-Three. Officer Nick Jones born 1986 Age 42 Badge Number Victor-Three-Zero-Nine and Officer Clare Brown born 1990 Age 45, Badge Number Foxtrot-Severn-Eight-Eight." Jane took her own seat now – looking around at all of them – "you all saw the crime scene, you saw what we are dealing with - the bodies of all four officers were found at the home address of Office Dwight, they were lined up and bound to dining room chairs, they had been beaten, tattooed, and the cause of death asphyxiation." Reaching back into the folder Jane lay out four further photos taken from each of the Autopsy files. As She placed each photo down she read out what the said – the latest message left "19. 76. V8. 25" she looked up, "my year of birth, and my Badge number. Whoever is responsible for this... they did it to get to me… What I need is to know who this guy is and I need to know why he wants me dead."

* * *

"Hey Mom… what time will you be back"

"He Jamie" Maura felt a wave of relief when her son answered her call - she was sat in her office chair facing away from the door into her office which was closed, along with the blinds. "honestly I'm not too sure tonight, things are a little hectic over here" Maura closed her eyes and sighed, that was an understatement – "I just…wanted to check in. You both okay?"

"yeah… we just got home from Grandpa's about an hour ago."

"Oh…Uncle Tommy took you to see Grandpa?"

"Yeah he gave us a present to give to Ma" Maura was a little taken aback by this, she could count on one hand the amount of times the oldest Rizzoli had remembered Jane's birthday since they had been together.

"That's nice of him. I'm sure Ma will be pleased" Maura had more to worry about right now than what was going on with Frank Rizzoli. "Hey listen Son… I've just spoken with your Uncle Korsak, he's heading over to stay with you and Rachel tonight till I get back"

"Mom" Jamie whined, "We don't need a baby sitter…"

There was a knock at the door, Maura knew from the manner in which it was nocked who was about to enter. "It's not a discussion Jamie. Look I must go… just text me when Uncle Korsak gets to the house. It's a school night so get yourself ready for bed the same goes for your sister. I love you both"

"Love you to Mom" The call ended.

"Was that the Kids?"

Maura turned her chair to see her wife shutting the office door behind her having now entered. "Yeah…it was Jamie. They are fine" Maura placed her phone on her desk and looked back up to Jane waiting for her to continue.

"Korsaks on his way. I feel better knowing he's with them…he will stay the night" The detective took a seat on the sofa, she placed her head in her hand.

"yes, I spoke with Korsak myself earlier" Maura stood up from her chair and moved to sit on the front of her desk, "So are you finally ready to talk to me about this?"

Jane shook her head, "talk about this, all I've done all day is talk about this. I talked to the team, I talked to you, I talked to Lieutenant …. in fact I've just walked out of my third meeting with the Lieutenant today."

"How about your wife… talk to your wife Jane." Maura was visibly distressed. "What is going on…"

"I have a whole team up there working on answering that very question, right now… I don't know what is going on" Jane stood to her feet, she wanted to step forward, to hold her wife and tell her everything was going to be okay but she didn't have it in her right now. Instead she pushed her hand into her trouser pockets and shrugged her shoulders.

"I performed five autopsies today Jane, on five officers, four of them who had your info tattooed across their chest." Maura walked forward until she was stood directly in front of the brunette "Tell me… promise me… you're not going to be the next one on my table"

"I …" She hesitated for a moment, then she moved a hand to rest on the side of Maura's face, she leant forward and kissed her wife, when she moved back from the kiss she spoke "I promise".

Nodding her head, she took a step back out of the embrace, she looked to the floor "I'm going to head home. I should be with the kids… for now there is not much more I can do here."

"I came to speak to you about that. The Lieutenant he's assigned us protection"

"Do you think that's necessary?"

"I'm not chancing it Maur. There will be someone on the house, you and the kids – until we know what we are dealing with. The kids don't need to know…the officers will be undercover. It's just a precaution"

Maura nodded, "what about you"

"It's going to be fine. Come on gather your things, I'll walk you out"


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7

Maura pulled the car into the driveway, she recalled very little of the drive home her mind preoccupied with everything the day had brought with it. She turned off the ignition and took a moment to gather herself. Placing her head back on the headrest she drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. She was torn between needing to be home with their children as well as wanting to be back at the office with her wife – worry and guilt had engulfed her – more so following the day's events.

She and her team had processed the crime scenes, carried out five autopsies and completed the reports, filed the evidence found at the scenes and passed it all off to the detectives working the case. The reality was that Maura sitting in her office right now would offer little help to Jane. Looking at her watch it was now approaching eleven in the evening – leaving the office had taken a little longer that Maura had anticipated having to wait for the police escort that had been arranged. Glancing up into the rear-view mirror Maura saw the familiar car sat across the road form her house that had followed her from the station – she was struggling to accept right now that her family had been assigned protection and that he wife was the focus of another maniac.

All these years of experience being Chief Medical examiner and the years of working alongside Jane – you would think she would be used to the risk – but she wasn't. She understood Jane's job and she had and always would support the brunette – the MD in Maura was usually able to keep the worried wife at bay when it came to Jane but today the wife in Maura was winning.

Deciding sitting in the car all evening was not an option and fighting the urge to return back to BPD Maura reached for the handle and exited. It was time to walk up in that house and check on her children.

Opening the door Maura stepped into the hallway her heels clicking against the wooden floor, breaking the silence. Moving her body to the side she shut the main front door to the house – leaning over to the alarm control panel she then set the perimeter alarm – if there was ever a night to utilise the ridiculous security system Jane had installed, it was tonight. The alarm now set would sound if one of the doors to the property were opened and the code not entered to disable it.

"Hey Mom"

Maura looked toward the stairs to see her daughter half way down, "Hey, what are you still doing up? It's late"

"I couldn't sleep…I was worried about you and Ma." Rachel explained, "why is Uncle Korsak staying the night?" continuing her way down the stairs she asked "What's going on?"

Maura offered a comforting tired smile her daughters way "Come on you look like you could do with a cup of tea, and I know I could" Maura explained with a nod of her head in the direction of the kitchen. "Where's your brother?"

Rachel had reached her mother before answering, "He's in bed"

Maura placed the arm that wasn't securing her laptop bag to her side around her daughter and kissed the top of her head. "well at least one of us is getting some sleep." Rachel hugged her mother back, "Can you go put the kettle on…I'll be with you in a moment"

Nodding her head the younger Rizzoli-Isles left for the kitchen, Maura headed toward the Living area where from the distant hum of the Tv she knew it was where she would find Vince.

"Maura" He greeted when she entered the room, lifting the tv remote he muted the sound and he stood to his feet.

"Vince" Maura felt relief having him here, she was thankful Jane had arranged for him to come stay with her family this evening. Placing her laptop on the sofa she greeted him with a hug. "Thank you…so much for coming over"

"No thanks needed Maura…how are you?" He asked when she stepped back.

"Its been a long day Vince"

He nodded his head, he understood. Vince had worked with the BPD long enough to know what Maura had been through today – knowing that five officers lost their lives today made him sick to the core. He had his own anger and emotions that he was working though. He'd wanted to head into the station earlier to assist but Jane had asked him to do her a favour instead and keep her family safe. He hadn't needed to be asked a second time. "What are they dealing with?"

Maura looked toward the door way toward the kitchen, then back to Vince, "I…" Taking a breath, she placed a hand on his arm, "How about…you come share a cup of tea with myself and Rachel and I'll get you caught up after"

"Sure" Vince placed a comforting hand on Maura's upper arm, "How about…I make that tea. Take a seat…I'll send Rachel in"

"Thank you" When Vince left Maura turned and lifted her laptop case from where she had placed it. She walked over and placed it alongside the side table. Then she slipped off her jacket. Herself and Jane should have been off today, recovering from yesterday's gathering and spending some much needed quality time with their family – when she turned to the empty Livingroom her chest tightened, herself and Jane should have been sat on that sofa now with a glass of wine, their children safely in bed. Her wife, safe.

* * *

Walking into the main control room that the operation was been run out of Jane surveyed the team, the strain and exhaustion was registered on each one of their faces. Glancing at her watch it was now showing they were nearing half one in the morning – only a few more hours and most of them would be hitting the twenty-four-hour mark. Still they were no closer to finding out who was responsible.

"Anything?"

"Nothing yet" Frankie responded, he had loosened his tie and undone the top button of his shirt. His frustrations showing.

"I'm just running through the officers' cases, trying to find a link. I'm getting no hits at the minuet" Nina called from her desk.

"Okay... Graham, Andrews…did the interviews with the families help?"

"Nothing worth highlighting" Andrews answered.

"Same with the officers we questioned, there was nothing out of the ordinary. All of the officers were off shift, they had a few days off- just how the rota fell and Officer Richards she'd had to take a few days off – sports injury, she'd blown her ankle out according to her partner"

Nodding her head Jane took in all the info, "Okay... listen up…we are all running on empty right now and that's not going to help us at all. I'm not expecting you all to go home and grab a solid twelve hours –but it is my job to make sure we are effective here. Go home, grab a shower, do what ever you need to do to get you head back in the game and I'll see you back here at Seven AM."

There was an attempt form all of them to argue, Jane held up her hands . "…not a request. It's an order." Pointing toward Andrews and Graham she explained "Them interviews will still be there in a few hours. Frankie same for you… head on out… like you said you have nothing right now. Give yourself some space and get back in here for Seven"

Throwing his pen down on the desk in front of him he slammed shut his laptop. "we have nothing...we need a damn lead to go on"

"And we will get it, but not like this. Look, Frost is chasing down a hunch…. I promise you all…anything comes up I'll call you in. Keep your phones on" Standing back up from the desk – she walked out of the room.

She needed to get herself out of here, if only for a few moments. Walking over to her desk that was over the far side of the main floor she took her jacket from the back of her seat and headed out towards lift.

The cool air was welcomed, she stepped out into the darkness of the rear carpark and lent herself against the wall. Reaching into her jacket pocket she pulled a half packet of cigarettes and a lighter, the need to calm her nerves and get away from everything for a moment were overwhelming. Placing the cigarette between her lips she lit it and inhaled deeply. Closing her eyes her head rested back against the cold brick behind her.

Lifting her phone from her pocket she called the familiar number, she did not have to wait long till there was an answer.

"Jane" the tone was laced with concern, exhaustion and a hint of relief.

"I haven't woke you have I?"

"no... I could sleep if I wanted to. I'm just reviewing the reports and checking I haven't missed anything" Maura did not wish to inform Jane that when she had attempted to sleep every time she closed her eyes she was seeing Jane on her autopsy table.

With a nod of her head Jane understood sleep was not an option, "how are the kids?"

"Jamie was asleep when I got back. Rachel was up when I got in. She was worried, wanted a run down of what was happening..."

"You didn't did you?"

"of course I didn't. Our daughter can hardly sleep through the night still dealing with having being at the receiving end of one lunatic I don't need to have her worrying about a second one that wants her Ma dead." She shot back with a low growl.

Jane sighed, as did Maura. "I didn't mean it like..."

"I know...I'm sorry...that wasn't fair...I'm just..." She couldn't find the right word to explain how she was right now.

Jane nodded her head, "I know...me to"

"she's fine." Maura reassured, "We had a chat over a cup of tea and she seemed more relaxed. She knows that its more than a normal case though, she's smart ...and stubborn …like you."

Jane took another drag from the cigarette and lent her head back against the brick wall behind her, she knew at the moment she needed to force her attention to focus on the current case "Korsak is still with you right?"

"Yes, he is, he's staying in the guest room – he's only just headed up - I have updated him on everything. He will be in to see you tomorrow." Jane wouldn't expect it any other way, cops like Korsak, they were always a cop and when someone is out for one of their own they can't sit on the side and watch. "he will take the children to school for me in the morning... that way I will get back into the office first thing and hopefully I will have the rest of the test results I've ran for you."

Jane just nodded but spoke no words. She inhaled another lung full of smoke. "put the house alarm on Maura"

"it's already on. First thing I did Hun. Listen to me I have everything under control here, don't worry about us and focus on getting this guy."

"I always worry about you guys, you should know that by now. Look… I best get back to it... call me if you need anything. I Love you"

"I love you to Jane."

With that said the call ended. Placing her phone back into her jacket she dropped the lit butt of the cigarette and used her boot to put it out. The nicotine had done what she had needed it to, next on the list was coffee, then back to her desk.

Coffee in hand from the machine in the breakroom Jane now reached the bull pen – as she headed towards her desk she glanced in the direction of the incident room and noticed the dull light of the screens still lighting up the space, she diverted her path in that direction and hovered in the doorway. "hey...I thought I told you to get some rest"

Nina was the only person in the room, she looked up toward her tired sister in law. "we need to get this search ran before we can get anywhere... honestly it's best I stay."

Jane nodded her head. "Frankie and the others?"

"following orders" Nina advised.

"great fresh eyes in the morning hopefully we will get somewhere."

"I'm just running through all the cases that the officers had worked on to see if there are any connections."

"how long do you think it will take us?"

Nina shrugged her shoulders, "Depends how accurate my search criteria is. It's quicker than dragging out the files and having us dig through the files manually though. While this is running I'm checking over the officers files again… see if anything stands out"

Jane nodded, there was nothing more to really add. Right now they needed a break in the case, both herself and Nina knew this. "I'll be at my desk if you need me…" before Jane could continue her cell phone broke ringing stopped her. She looked down at the screen, UNKOWN, answering without hesitation she spoke "Rizzoli?"

"Jane Rizzoli… nice to finally speak to you again…"


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8

"Nina…" Jane called out to her sister in law as she made her way back to the doorway of the incident room from her desk where she had taken the call to. "is your car here"

"Yes down in the garage…"

"Maura drove us to the crime scene this morning. I need your keys…"

Reaching into her pocket she took her keys and through them toward the clearly agitated Jane. "What's happening? Was that a lead?"

"I'm not sure…maybe… look I have to go - I'll fill you in when I get back!" Turning she moved toward the exit but stopped to call over her shoulder, "If you get a hit…call me" Before Nina could enquire further Jane was already heading in the direction of the lifts.

"Jane…wait" She had caught up with the Brunette at the lift doors in time to see the impatient Sargent repeatedly pressing the call button. Jane glanced to her side clearly preoccupied between needing the lift to arrive and checking her phone, Nina was slipping into her jacket – "Your partner is god knows where, there's a mad man clearly targeting you… I'm coming with you Boss"

"No … I need them hits to come through"

Holding up her phone she interrupted Jane, "they will come through to my phone."

Knowing she wasn't going to win Jane caved, "You know…just once…it'd be great if you lot followed orders"

The doors to the lift finally opened and they both entered, Jane hit the lower ground button that would take them to car park area. Nina lent against the side – "Look I'm married to your brother and I would like to keep it that way and your wife is terrifying when she needs to be, you're not going out there on your own…not tonight"

A low growl echoed before she gave in "Okay…you win."

It was easier that Nina had thought it would be and that concerned her more. For Jane to cave so easily meant only one thing – she too felt the threat to her was very real "So who was the call from? Where we heading?"

"You might regret volunteering to be dragged into this one" the doors closed shut and the lift jerked into motion, "That was a call from Andrea Holmes...we are heading to her place now!"

"you are kidding me, right?"

"I wish I was..."

Forty minutes later and Jane pulled the car up outside the familiar building. Her hands did not move from the steering wheel she stayed unmoved in the driver's seat looking up at the detached house set back from the road.

"you're not going in that house alone Jane" Nina was firm, nothing about how this night was unfolding felt right.

"let's just get this over with"

The two exited the car and headed toward the front door. Both Jane and Nina surveyed the area around them the events of the day so far leading them to follow every procedure taught at the academy to ensure their safety. No one appeared to be lurking in the shadows, nothing appeared out of place in the residential neighbourhood.

She never thought she would find herself back on this doorstep. Lifting her hand, she allowed her knuckles to rap against the large wooden door – Nina offered a reassuring nod of the head and readied herself for what was to follow.

The large doors slowly opened, the light from the house flooded out into the darkness. "Detectives" the woman who stood in front of them greeted, leaning on the door she focused her attention now fully on Jane "you got yourself over here pretty sharpish sweetie"

"Funny - I had nowhere more important to be after receiving your call... This became a top priority. Andrea this is Detective Rizzoli" Jane explained indicating toward Nina.

"Rizzoli?" Andrea nodded a greeting in Nina's direction and then allowed her gaze to find its way back to Jane. "you're not?"

Shaking her head, "sister in law... I'm not sure why but she agreed to a marry Frankie" Jane explained attempting hummer to skim over the awkwardness that had settled over them, "Can we come in?"

Nina observed the exchange – Andrea Holmes stood at a height of around 5"9, she wore heels, a pencil skirt that fell below her knee, a fitted shirt and a leather jacket that even from this distance the detective knew would cost her at least a couple months pay packets. It was not what one would expect someone to be wearing in the early hours of the Morning. Andrea held a confidence about her that Nina had expected, after all you didn't get to be a successful journalist by taking a back seat – from what Nina knew of this woman she didn't take anything off anyone without giving as good as she got.

"probably for the best..." Andrea stood to the side and allowed the two into her house. Jane looked around the layout the same, the decor though changed still a familiar style. "go through to the living room...you know the way!"

"are you in the property on your own Ms Holmes?" Nina questioned as she followed Jane. She knew the blond was close behind by the sound of her heels clicking against the wooden floors.

"Yes I am. Please Andrea is fine." As they reached the living room she gestured "take a seat, can I get you anything to drink?" now looking back at Jane she added "no offence you look like you need it"

Jane shook her head, "I'm fine"

"No thank you" Nina was the first to sit. Jane then followed, taking the seat next to her colleague.

"Andrea… you need to tell us everything" Jane explained.

Walking away from the detectives toward her desk behind where they were sat Andrea retrieved a large brown envelope. She then walked back to the sofa on the opposite side of the coffee table which separated them. She placed the package down in the middle.

"like I told you on the phone. Not much to tell other than finding this envelope left on my car, it had been places under the window wiper."

"What time was this?" Nina questioned.

"around half hour before I called J" The familiarity in the manor she addressed Jane was noticed by all, including Andrea. She had not expected the tone herself. She brushed it off not willing to allow herself to dwell on it and averted her gaze to the envelope that Jane had picked up, she watched her open the envelope and pulled out what was inside – "I drove back here after reading that and called you right away."

Moments passed as the detectives looked over the document "Jesus..." she mumbled, then she looked from the letter to Andrea. "Jesus Christ" she repeated.

The reporter nodded her head, "This is some front-page mess you have yourself in this time Hun. Do you need that drink now?" she asked, "if you do the good stuff is in the desk"

Jane shook her head again, she looked towards Nina who had already pulled her phone from her jacket having read the note over Jane shoulder "call them in"

"I'm on it boss" she stood to her feet to exit the room to make calls to the team.

Jane stood to her feet, "grab whatever you need, you're coming with us"

"your damn right I am... like I said front-page material right here"

"drop the reporter gig. Right now, you're a God damn witness" Jane's patience was waring, she was over tired and did not have time for this.

"Listen Sweetie, it's easier to play reporter right now than the ex you cheated on. You got me J?" She shot back with a determination, "give me five minutes and I'll be ready to leave"

* * *

"Kids…you have two seconds to stop bickering and get downstairs before I lose my mind!"

"But Mom…" Rachel attempted to stage a protest as she met with Maura in the hallway outside of her bedroom.

"I don't care" Maura held her hand up to stop her daughter from continuing "Whatever he has of yours, whatever he has done, whoever is in the wrong…right now is not important to me. Uncle Korsak is preparing you breakfast and will be taking you to school… go eat!"

The teenager growled, "This is so unfair" she turned on her heels and walked back into her bedroom.

"Yes unfair" Maura mumbled. She continued her way to the master bedroom – she needed to get back to the station – and she needed to bring Jane a clean change of clothing.

"Mom…." This time it was Jamie.

"Go…eat…now" Maura demanded refusing to be pulled into the early morning teenage drama that Jane would usually defuse.

Finally, she had made it to the sanctuary of the master bedroom she moved toward the bed where she had already laid out a clean trouser suit and packed a gym back – she knew getting Jane back to the house to rest and change would not be an option so a shower and change at the office would have to do.

Downstairs Rachel was the first to arrive in the kitchen, the smell of pancakes filled the room. "Wow… I never knew you could cook?"

"Careful" He warned" She smiled in his direction, "I'm a Man of many talents. Take a seat and grab a plate… first batch it up"

She through her school bag down to the floor and lifted herself onto the stool at the counter, "I think you should move in with us… I could get used to this"

"hey I had to work with your Ma long enough, I would never agree to live with her" he winked, "Three or four?"

"Five"

"appetite like your Ma to huh?" He began to pile the pancakes and then moved to the second pan which held the bacon – "So, what were you and your brother rowing about up there?"

"He broke my MP3 player" Rachel was happy to have one person who wanted to hear her problems, "he took it, used it and broke it..."

"I didn't break it!" Jamie protested as he stepped into the room, "you stood on my bag, you broke it when we were playing basketball"

"You shouldn't have had it…. I didn't…"

"Hey – Quite it both of you" Vince barked, both younger Rizzoli-Isles children halted, "I care less about this that I do about whatever Your Ma and Uncle Frankie always argue about. Jamie pull up a seat…" He began to pile the pancakes onto the second plate, "Eat"

With a sigh, as his sister had Jamie allowed his bag to drop to the floor and did as ordered, "Yes sir…"

"You're getting me a new one" Rachel shot under her breath.

"I wish I'd never asked" Vince cut into the exchange again, "Stop talking and start eating…we are out of here in twenty minuets"

"Why are you driving us to school anyway" It appeared that Jamie was more than happy to change the subject from his need to replace the broken MP3 player. It also seemed this was a subject Rachel was interested in herself and was happy to drop the argument to hear the answer. "…any why did you stay? And where is Ma?"

"You kids have a lot of questions"

"Too Many" Maura walked into the kitchen, "Stop with the questions and eat your breakfasts" it was then Maura managed to trip over the bags that her Children had dropped. She lurched forward but managed to catch herself, "and for havens sakes…how many times do I need to tell you not to leave your bags in the middle of a room?"

She turned, and with her high heal shoe she kicked the bags closer to the stools, both Rachel and Jamie knew better than to push their mother, they went to eating their breakfast. "eat up while I help your mother to the car" he told them, then Vince moved from his place at the kitchen counter and followed Maura into the living room.

"Maura… leave those… I will take them for you" He said, referring to the laptop bag as well as the items she'd collected from her bedroom and placed next to it.

"if you're sure, thank you Vince" she placed them onto the sofa, lifting her jacket which was draped over the back and slipped into it "I'm sorry…it's crazy around here today"

"Not at all. I take it no call from Jane yet?" he could tell by the tension visible in the doctors stance she was unsettled.

Maura shook her head, "No. Right now I just need to get back to the office and check in but…I'm not too happy about leaving the children"

Vince understood, he lifted the bags that Maura had placed down, "We will be watching them" He reassured,

Maura nodded, unconvinced.

"Mom" Maura looked over her shoulder to where Jamie was stood in the doorway, "There are police here?"

"Excuse me?" Maura pushed herself past Vince, she hadn't even heard the door. Rushing to her son's side she followed him into the entrance foyer. There was no reason there should be police officers at her door, Vince followed. Rachel was stood addressing two officers who were inside her home. Placing an arm in front of Rachel she guided her back and stood protectively in front. "Officers can I help you" she looked over the two uniformed officers in front of her.

"Dr Isles…I am sorry to barge in on you in this manor…we were the closest unit to you at the time. We received the call and were ordered to come here and wait with you until further notice"

A thousand questions raced, "Further notice of what?" Maura turned her attention to the still open door where she noticed a second patrol car with a further two uniforms inside. "What is going on officer?"

Neither officer had a chance to respond, Maura's phone began to ring, Vince approached her from behind placing a reassuring hand on her arm, "Take the call" he reassured knowing who it would be, "I'll deal with this." He looked over to the two youngest who were stood being their mother, "Go back to the kitchen" he ordered in a firm tone. They didn't argue, Vince saw fear and confusion register on their face.

Maura answered the call as she stepped away – she walked out of the front door and stood on the porch "Jane what the hell is going on?"


End file.
